Collapsible rack unit

ABSTRACT

Provided herein is a collapsible rack unit that includes a housing, a hanging bar, and a pair of hinged arms that extend between the housing and the hanging bar. The hinged arms extend generally parallel to the housing in a closed position and extend generally perpendicular to the housing in an open position. In preferred embodiments, the hinged arms include a base portion that is associated with the housing and an arm portion that is hingedly connected to the base portion.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to racks, and more particularly to acollapsible rack unit for hanging clothes and the like.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Space is often limited in household areas such as laundry rooms orlaundry areas, closets, garages, bedrooms, bathrooms and the like.Particularly in the laundry room/area people encounter the problem offinding space to air dry garments as they come out of the washer ordryer. For example, some garments cannot be placed in the dryer, butmust be air dried; some garments can only go in the dryer for a shorttime and then must be air dried. However, due to limited space in thelaundry area it is not desirable to always have a rack sticking out fromthe wall for hanging such items. Racks can often be bulky and get in theway of other items in the laundry area or closet when not in use. Manysuch racks are floor models and/or bulky wall models. Accordingly, aneed exists for a rack that can be wall, under shelf or closet mounted,and collapsed and hidden when not in use.

SUMMARY OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention there isprovided a rack unit that includes a housing, a hanging bar, and a pairof hinged arms that extend between the housing and the hanging bar. Thehinged arms extend generally parallel to the housing in a closedposition and extend generally perpendicular to the housing in an openposition. In preferred embodiments, the hinged arms include a baseportion that is associated with the housing and an arm portion that ishingedly connected to the base portion.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention there isprovided a method of hanging an article. The method includes the stepsof providing a rack unit that is affixed to an object, moving a pair ofarms from a closed position to an open position, moving a hanging baralong the pair of arms, extending it out and away from the housing, andhanging the article on the hanging bar.

In accordance with yet another aspect of the present invention there isprovided a collapsible rack unit for hanging articles that includes ahanging bar and a collapsing mechanism. The unit has at least two modes,one mode where the base, hanging bar and collapsing mechanism arecollapsed together in a generally cylindrical package and another modewhere the base is spaced from the hanging bar in an extended positionspaced by the collapsing mechanism.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a collapsible rack unit in an openposition in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the rack unit of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the rack unit of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the rack unit of FIG. 1 in a partiallyopen position;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the rack unit of FIG. 1 in a closedposition;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a portion of the rack unit of FIG. 1showing the base portion of the hinged arm and the housing cut away toreveal the locking mechanism; and

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the collapsible rack unit of FIG. 1 inan open position with clothes hanging therefrom.

Like numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views of thedrawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

As shown in the drawings, for purposes of illustration, the invention isembodied in a collapsible rack unit for hanging items, such as clothes,belts and the like.

For exemplary purposes only, described hereinbelow is a preferredembodiment wherein the rack is used to facilitate hanging clothes.However, this is not a limitation on the present invention. It will beunderstood that the rack can be used to support any desired item.

It will be appreciated that terms such as “front,” “back,” “top,”“bottom,” and “side” used herein are merely for ease of description andrefer to the orientation of the components as shown in the figures. Itshould be understood that any orientation of the rack unit, and thecomponents thereof described herein is within the scope of the presentinvention.

Referring to FIGS. 1-7, generally, the rack unit 10 includes a housing12, a pair of hinged arms 14 and a hanging bar 16. The housing 12includes a back portion 20 that has a flange 22 extending outwardlytherefrom. The flange 22 and back portion 20 cooperate to define arecess 24 which is sized to receive the hanging bar 16, as will bedescribed more fully below.

In a preferred embodiment, the housing 12 is adapted to be affixed to awall or other object. Those skilled in the art will understand thatthere are numerous ways to connect the housing 12 to the wall. In anexemplary embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the rack unit 10 preferablyincludes a pair of plates 18 that include an opening 18 a definedtherein that cooperates with an opening 12 a in the housing 12 throughwhich a threaded fastener 26, such as a screw, can be inserted forthreading into a wall. The plate 18 also includes an opening 18 b forreceiving a threaded fastener 26 for securing the plate 18 to thehousing. And, the plate 18 includes another opening 18 c that is sizedto receive the base portion 28 of the hinged arm 14.

In a preferred embodiment, each hinged arm 14 includes a base portion 28and an arm portion 30 that is hingedly connected to the base portion 28.The base portion 28 is affixed to plate 18. In a preferred embodiment,the base portion 28 is permanently welded to plate 18. This can be doneby inserting base portion 28 into opening 18 c and welding it therein oromitting opening 18 c and welding base portion 28 directly to plate 18.In a preferred embodiment, the plate 18 and hinged arms 14 (and theirvarious components) are made of metal or the like and the housing 12 andhanging bar 16 (and their various components) are made of a high densityplastic or the like. However, the materials are not a limitation on thepresent invention.

In a preferred embodiment, the arm portion 30 is connected to the baseportion 28 by an intermediate portion 32 that includes a male end 32 aonto which the arm portion 30 slides and is press fit (otherconnections, such as screws, welding, gluing and the like arecontemplated), and an opposite end 32 b that is hingedly connected tothe base portion 28. In another embodiment, the intermediate portion 32can be omitted and the arm portion 30 can be directly hinged to the baseportion 28.

In a preferred embodiment, the arm 14 includes a locking mechanism 46for locking the arm portion 30 in the open and closed positions(described more fully below). As is shown in FIGS. 2 and 6, in apreferred embodiment, the locking mechanism 46 includes a ball bearing46 a biased by a spring 46 b and a grub screw 46 c for holding the ballbearing 46 a and screw 46 b in place. The ball bearing 46 a and then thespring are inserted into a threaded opening 28 a in the bottom of thebase portion 28 and extends through another opening 28 b, whose diameteris smaller than that of the ball bearing 46 a, near the top of the baseportion 28. The grub screw 46 c is then screwed into the bottom of thebase portion 28, thereby securing the spring 46 b and ball bearing 46 ainside the base portion 28 and biasing a portion of the ball bearing 46a through opening 28 b. End 32 b of the intermediate portion 32 includesan arcuate track 48 defined therein that has locking indentations 50 atopposite ends thereof. Track 48 and locking indentations 50 are adaptedto allow ball bearing 46 a to ride therealong. Locking indentations 50are deeper than track 48 and correspond to the open and closed positionsof the arm portion 30. In use, when arm portion 30 is moved from oneposition to the other, after applying a little pressure, ball bearing 46a exits the corresponding locking indentation 50 and rides along track48 until it pops into the other corresponding locking indentation 50.Other locking mechanisms are also contemplated.

As is best shown in FIG. 2, the hanging bar 16 includes a plurality offingers 34 that cooperate to define a plurality of hanging slots 36,which are sized to receive the hook portion of a typical clothes hangar.The hanging bar 16 also includes an arm channel 38 into which the arms14 can be folded when the rack unit 10 is in the closed position. As canbe seen in FIG. 5, when the unit 10 is in the closed position it has agenerally cylindrical shape as a result of the curvature of the outersurface of the hanging bar 16 and the cylindrical shape of the arms 14.

The hanging bar 16 also includes a pair of openings 40 definedtransversely therethrough, through which the arms 14 extend. The arms 14include stoppers 42 on the ends thereof that prevent the hanging bar 16from coming off the end of the arms 14 when the hanging bar 16 is pulledto the open position. In a preferred embodiment, the stoppers 42 areremovable from the arm portion 30 for assembly and disassembly of therack unit 10. As shown in FIG. 2, in a preferred embodiment, the stopper42 is removable from the arm portion 30 by a biased button or ballbearing 44 a and opening 44 b arrangement.

In operation, the rack unit 10 is initially in the closed position, asis shown in FIG. 5. In this position, the hanging bar 16 is received inrecess 24 and the arms 14 are hinged inwardly and received in the armchannel 38. Preferably, the arms 14, recess 24, hanging bar 16 and arms14 (together with any other components) are sized such that the rackunit 10 is compact as is shown in FIG. 5. For example, in a preferredembodiment, in the closed position, the rack unit 10 measures about 25.5inches long, is about 2 inches wide at its widest point and about 1.75inches deep ensuring it is neatly stored and out of the way when not inuse.

To place the rack unit 10 in the open position, the user first pulls andhinges the arms 14 outwardly, as is shown in FIG. 4, until the arms 14extend approximately perpendicularly from the housing 12 and wall (andball bearing 46 a pops into the locking indentation 50 that correpondswith the open position). Then, the user grasps the hanging bar 16 andpulls it outwardly until the stoppers 42 prevent the hanging bar 16 fromgoing any further. At this point, as is shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the rackunit 10 is in the open position. The user can then hang the hook portionof a hangar in any of the hanging slots 36. In an embodiment thatincludes the biased ball bearing 44 a and opening 44 b arrangementbetween the stopper 42 and arm portion 30, the ball bearing 44 a is alsoused to lock the hanging bar 16 in the open position. When the hangingbar 16 is pulled outwardly along the arms 14, because of the roundedshape of the ball bearing 44 a, the ball bearing is pushed inwardly andthen is biased back outwardly once the hanging bar 16 has been pulledpast the button 44 a. In another embodiment, the hanging bar 16 can havean indentation defined in the surface of the opening 40 that receivesthe ball bearing 44 a for locking the hanging bar 16 in place.

To close the rack unit 10, the user slides the hanging bar 16 back intothe housing and hingedly closes the arms 14, which fit compactly intothe arm channel 38 of the hanging bar.

In a preferred embodiment, the flange 22 of the housing 12 includes anarea on the top and bottom thereof where it bulges outwardly. This areadefines a finger recess 52 between the flange 22 and the hanging bar 16.This arrangement makes it easier for a user to grasp the hanging bar 16and pull it outwardly.

In an alternative embodiment, the housing can be omitted and the hingedarms can be directly affixed to the wall. In another embodiment, thearms can extend into the wall in the closed position and then be pulledstraight outwardly to the open position. In this embodiment the arms arealways perpendicular to the wall, housing and hanging bar.

The foregoing embodiments are merely examples of the present invention.Those skilled in the art may make numerous uses of, and departures from,such embodiments without departing from the spirit and the scope of thepresent invention. Accordingly, the scope of the present invention isnot to be limited to or defined by such embodiments in any way, butrather, is defined solely by the following claims.

1. A rack unit comprising: a housing, a hanging bar, and a pair ofhinged arms that extend between the housing and the hanging bar, whereinthe hinged arms extend generally parallel to the housing in a closedposition and wherein the hinged arms extend generally perpendicular tothe housing in an open position.
 2. The rack unit of claim 1 wherein thehousing is adapted to be affixed to a wall.
 3. The rack unit of claim 1wherein the hinged arms include a base portion that is associated withthe housing and an arm portion that is hingedly connected to the baseportion.
 4. The rack unit of claim 1 wherein the hanging bar includes apair of openings defined therein that each receive one of the hingedarms, and wherein the hanging bar is slidable on the hinged arms.
 5. Therack unit of claim 1 wherein the hanging bar includes a plurality offingers that cooperate to define a plurality of hanging slots.
 6. Therack unit of claim 1 wherein the housing includes a back portion and aflange extending outwardly from the back portion, wherein the backportion and flange cooperate to define a recess into which at least aportion of the hanging bar is received when the rack unit is in theclosed position.
 7. The rack unit of claim 1 wherein the hanging bar islocked in place in the open position.
 8. The rack unit of claim 7wherein at least one of the hinged arms includes an outwardly biasedball bearing that locks the hanging bar in place in the open position.9. The rack unit of claim 4 wherein the hinged arms each include astopper on an end thereof, wherein at least a portion of the diameter ofthe stoppers are greater than the diameter of the openings in thehanging bar.
 10. The rack unit of claim 9 wherein the stoppers areremovable.
 11. The rack unit of claim 1 wherein the hanging bar is incontact with the housing when the unit is in the closed position and isspaced from the housing when the unit is in the open position.
 12. Therack unit of claim 3 wherein the hinged arm includes a locking mechanismfor maintaining the arm portion in the closed and open positions.
 13. Amethod of hanging an article, the method comprising the steps of: (a)providing a rack unit that is affixed to an object, (b) moving a pair ofarms from a closed position to an open position, (c) moving a hangingbar along the pair of arms, and (d) hanging the article on the hangingbar.
 14. The method of claim 13 wherein step (b) includes pivoting thearms from the closed position where the arms are generally parallel tothe hanging bar to the open position where the arms are generallyperpendicular to the hanging bar.
 15. The method of claim 14 wherein thehanging bar includes openings defined therein through which the armsextend, and wherein step (c) includes sliding the hanging bar along thearms.
 16. The method of claim 15 wherein at least one of the armsincludes an outwardly biased ball bearing that locks the hanging bar inplace in the open position.
 17. The method of claim 13 wherein thehanging bar includes a plurality of fingers that cooperate to define aplurality of hanging slots.
 18. A collapsible rack unit for hangingarticles, the rack unit comprising a base, a hanging bar and acollapsing mechanism, wherein the unit has at least two modes, one modewhere the base, hanging bar and collapsing mechanism are collapsedtogether in a generally cylindrical package and another mode where thebase is spaced from the hanging bar in an extended position spaced bythe collapsing mechanism.